Postman, the world’s leading API collaboration platform, recently launched its 7th annual State of the API Report, the industry’s most comprehensive look at the growing importance of APIs.

The report, which surveyed over 5,700 developers and engineering leaders globally, states that while 89% of global developers are already using AI tools, most organisations still lack the API maturity to operationalise them safely.

However, when examining the data at a regional level, over a third (35%) of APAC developers are designing APIs for AI agents, compared to 22% of developers in other regions. This indicates that APAC is closing the AI-readiness gap, giving the region an early advantage in scaling intelligent systems.

Key findings from the report, comparing APAC to the rest of the world, highlight that:

AI is reshaping APIs in APAC

The research highlights that AI is changing how developers in APAC design their APIs. A third of APAC respondents (33%) believe APIs to be critical to their AI strategy, compared with 22% elsewhere.

Furthermore, 31% of APAC developers say APIs help power AI agent workflows, compared to 21% in other regions, making APAC developers 1.5 times more likely than their global peers to use APIs as a foundation for AI innovation.

“APIs are the connective tissue of AI. They need to be scalable and reliable for AI agents to function correctly and operate securely,” said Jordan Walsh, Solutions Engineering Lead, Postman APAC.

“By recognising the central role of APIs in AI strategy, APAC businesses are building stronger foundations for their AI adoption compared to regions” he said.

APAC leads the rest of the world in API security

Almost half of APAC developers (44%) call API security reviews very important, compared to just under one-third (32%) globally.

That makes APAC developers 40% more likely to prioritise security in their API development. They’re also nearly twice as likely (36%) to run security reviews as part of their day-to-day work in comparison to the rest of the world (21%).

Speed to ship matters

The data highlights that APAC teams are 26% more likely to say APIs help them ship faster than teams in other regions. Regionally, APAC is also twice as likely to ship 50+ APIs a year compared to the rest of the world (22% versus 11%). 

Performance is a Dealbreaker

Nearly 7 in 10 developers in APAC (69%) say API speed and performance are very important, compared with 54% across other regions.

That makes APAC teams around 1.3 times more likely than the rest of the world to prioritise performance, reflecting the region’s strong culture of speed and optimisation.

By treating API performance so crucially, businesses in the region will experience a multitude of benefits, including increased efficiencies and improved customer service, which ultimately can drive an increase in revenue. 

Governance & trust tools are crucial for APAC businesses 

In comparison to the rest of the world, the research revealed that APAC organisations are ahead on both API-first adoption and governance practices.

Specifically, APAC is 1.6 times more likely to be fully API-first and 1.4 times more likely to use governance tools internally when compared to other regions.

“It’s both interesting to see that APAC is leading the charge over the rest of the world when it comes to API maturity and security-conscious development,” said Walsh

“APAC’s stronger focus on governance likely stems from how teams here build software. It’s a fast-growing, highly regulated region and integrating strong governance practices from the beginning helps lay the foundations for growth, especially for companies that operate across multiple markets and industries,”

“For instance, in markets such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, where finance dominates, there is a requirement for a strong understanding of what’s being built, how it’s used, and who it connects to ensure regional governance requirements.” he said.

As a whole, the research highlights that developers in the Asia-Pacific region are raising the bar for APIs worldwide.

APAC organisations are not just building faster, they are building smarter, with more governance, collaboration and automation than anywhere else in the world.

Given that these factors are key to innovation, the acceleration of Asia-Pacific compared to the rest of the world suggests this is where the next generation of AI-driven business models will take root first, making it the region to watch.